Product Description

Wayward daughters. Missing Husbands. Philandering partners. Curious conmen. If you've got a problem, and no one else can help you, then pay a visit to Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's only - and finest - female private detective. Her methods may not be conventional, and her manner not exactly Miss Marple, but she's got warmth, wit and canny intuition on her side, not to mention Mr J. L. B. Matekoni, the charming proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. And Precious is going to need them all as she sets out on the trail of a missing child, a case that tumbles our heroine into a hotbed of strange situations and more than a little danger ...Delightfully different, THE NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY offers a captivating glimpse of an unusual world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #945 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
* 'Everything about [McCall Smith] is appealing. He's just full of delight - it just bubbles out of him' SUNDAY HERALD * 'Indeed, the effort involved would have been justified by just one of them, THE NO.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY' Gerald Kaufman, Chairman of the 1999 BOOKER Prize Jury * 'A rare pleasure' DAILY TELEGRAPH * 'A publishing phenomenon' GUARDIAN

Anthony Daniels, Sunday Telegraph
The author's prose has the merits of simplicity, euphony and precision.

Scotland on Sunday
Highly amusing, intelligent and heart-warming

Customer Reviews

Completely charming, addicitive book! Precious Ramotswe is fabulous!
Wayward daughters. Missing husbands. Philandering partners. Curious conmen. If you've got a problem, and no one else can help you, then pay a visit to Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's only - and finest - female detective agency.

I loved this book. Simple, cute, an easy read and completely charming. Each chapter is one of Precious Ramotswe investigations. And, as the blurb says, these aren't horrendous murders and acts of terrorism she's investigating, she doesn't have a gun and conduct high speed pursuits. She simply uses her whit and charm to solve the range of problems her clients bring to her.

Precious Ramotswe is a size 22, she's not worried about fasion and glamour. She's not your stereotypical female heroine and I loved that.

I will definately be reading more of the series. I'm desperate to get my hands on them! I learnt a little about African culture and want to know more. I want to know what happens next in Precious Ramotswe's life!

Very enjoyable and warm, but also a little flat and predictable
Charming, warm sequence of interlinked tales about an engaging, intelligent matriach figure who solves local mysteries in Botswana. Easy to read and enjoyable, but the characterisations are rather flat, the stories somewhat predictable, and the simplicity of the writing sometimes is just too simple to be all that interesting.

Not really a mystery, more a life story ...
A very quick book to read, very enjoyable but i wouldn't necessarily call it a mystery or crime book. There are crimes committed and mysteries solved but really what we're reading about is how people live in this particular county at this particular time. None the less it reads very well, perfect poolside reading i would say and i'm looking forward to the next installment.